So, there's a story that I really love from American History and it's really the story
that saved America—in a lot of ways.
And I mean that in, like, a literal sense—it LITERALLY saved America—but it also saved
America in a figurative way, later.
So years ago, back in the 1600's, long before the Europeans had actually, really settled
in the "New World," a young Native American man was kidnapped by Europeans.
His name was Squanto.
He was taken from his homeland and sold into slavery, in Spain.
Now, the history, or the account, is a little vague about what happened to him after that
point—but after several years, Squanto somehow—miraculously—found his way back home.
And after all of this struggle, after all of this pain, after all of this heartache
of fighting to get back home, he gets there—to the spot where he had lived—and everything's
gone.
His family, his friends, everything—gone.
What historians believe is that they were wiped out by a mixture of famine and plague.
And so, you have to put yourself in Squanto's position, right?
He was taken from his homeland and after all of this struggle, he comes back home—undoubtedly
he's thrilled to come back home and then he just finds literally—LITERALLY—the land
is covered in the bones of his people.
Well, he joins with a neighboring tribe and years later another group of Europeans come
to the new world.
And we know these people as the Pilgrims.
And they were actually trying to get to a very different spot of land in America, but
they end up—because of storm and misdirection, and really, confusion (they didn't know what
they were doing)—they end up exactly at the homeland of Squanto.
In fact, William Bradford says something to the effect of building their community on
the bones of a Native American people that had died out before they had gotten there.
Well, as they built up this community that we know as Plymouth, things weren't going
so well.
And during the winter, a lot of people died.
There was about a hundred people to begin with (in the Mayflower) and by the time the
winter had ended there were about fifty people.
And you have to put yourself into the Pilgrims' shoes now.
You think you're doing God's will, you think you're doing the right thing—you're trying
your best to move forward in life—and it's just not working.
So, either they have to get out of there or they're just going to die.
That's the—that's the honest truth.
Everybody will die if somebody doesn't help them.
And at the close of the winter, a miracle happened.
A young man walked into camp and spoke to them in English.
Now, it was broken English—it was actually a messenger sent by Squanto, basically to
say a few words and tell them: "You have to talk to Squanto, he knows English."
And then, later, the Pilgrims met with Squanto who spoke more or less fluent English because
he had lived, as a slave, in Spain and eventually in England.
And this—this is a miracle on so many levels because Squanto, at that point, taught them
how to grow corn, how to survive in that area.
That's a miracle—by itself.
He saved their lives, physically.
But there's more to it than that.
I mean, this is a man who was literally kidnapped by the English and sold as a slave.
He had everything taken away from him.
The English then come back to his homeland and settle on it and take it all again, right?
So, you have to imagine him looking at these people and seeing them build on the bones
of his people.
This is a person who has all the reason in the world to hate—HATE—the English and
say: "You know what?
I'm just going to let them die like they let MY people die."
But he didn't.
He forgave.
And that's a miracle.
Because had he not forgiven them—had he not helped them—this nation wouldn't exist.
I mean, you and I and the people watching this video, we probably wouldn't exist.
Because the Pilgrims, after surviving that experience—because of Squanto—they were
able to send communication back to England and say: "We can live here now."
And that began the migration of Puritans into New England, really.
That's what sparked it.
That's why we celebrate Thanksgiving and Plymouth Rock and the Pilgrims.
And we celebrate it because of Squanto, really.
Back at the beginning, I said this was a miracle that saved America, but it was also a story
that saved America.
And what I mean by that is that hundreds of years after this event occurred, America was
engaged in the Civil War.
And it wasn't just a battle about States' Rights and Slavery and Anti-Slavery, it was
that—but it was also a battle for the soul of America, right?
What does America represent?
What kind of country are we?
Because you could make the argument that America started in Jamestown, Virginia, right?
That where the origin story of America is.
And that story is very much "commercial," right?
It's about growing tobacco, it's about slavery, it's about building America as a very commercial
enterprise.
Doing whatever you can to make money.
But then you could also make the argument that America began in Plymouth.
That was the origin of America.
And if you make that case, then you include the story of the Pilgrims and Squanto.
And Abraham Lincoln took that story—that origin story—and said: THIS is America.
And that story has become our story as a nation, right?
He said: Let's celebrate Thanksgiving.
Because when the Pilgrims made it through that horrible, terrible winter, they gathered
together later and celebrated what we call "The First Thanksgiving."
Obviously, it looked a little different than what we celebrate now, but the idea is very
much the same: Gratitude to God.
Very grateful to be alive.
And celebrating with people whom you might not agree with.
People who you forgive.
People who you embrace.
People who you bring in and share a table with.
This is what Abraham Lincoln put his life on.
He literally gave his life for this idea of America.
In fact, in his Second Inaugural Address he said: "With malice toward none and charity
for all."
And they're engaged in this Civil War.
They're wrapping up these intense hatreds and rivalries and he says: Forgive.
Let's let it go—and let's all sit down at the table and celebrate our common humanity.
And so, it really is a story that saved America.